Month: July 2010

Chapter 21 of DCAF and NATO’s, “Building Integrity and Reducing Corruption in Defence: A Compendium of Best Practices” written by Ian Davis explores the role of civil society organizations and the media in the implementation of SSR initiatives and suggests that both NATO and NGOs must set the right example for SSR and build integrity by becoming more transparent.

The much vaunted goal of long-term stability in Southern Sudan is as much at threat from within as from external forces. Banishing thousands of armed men who define their existence as military operatives is no choice for a region already suffering from insecurity. Even if the security services are themselves often responsible for insecurity, violence and crime, merely downsizing the military may only exacerbate problems.

The growing consensus is that DDR should be implemented early, be locally owned, combine cash and non-cash incentives, and target both individuals and communities. However perhaps more important is the increasing integration of DDR with SSR and state-building agendas. While the tendency towards integration risks over-theorizing the issue to the detriment of experience and practice, it also has the potential to generate new theoretical innovations to smooth the DDR and SSR processes.

The United Nations Security Council met on June 29, 2010, to debate the promotion and strengthening of the rule of law. The fifteen member countries of the Security Council, along with nineteen other country representatives discussed the forward progression of the rule of law.

In their paper Security Sector Evolution: Understanding & Influencing How Security Institutions Change, authors Volha Piotukh and Peter Wilson highlight the importance of the evolutionary approach, making the case that good governance is achieved primarily by helping institutions develop the capacity to respond to citizens, not solely by the creation and training of state-level oversight institutions or other high-level democratic reforms.

Drug traffickers, gangs, and corrupt security forces have benefitted from a pervasive culture of impunity that has resulted from governance failures and widespread fear among the population. As long as corruption remains endemic and the culture of impunity persists, the potential exists for Guatemala to descend into a narco-state with disastrous consequences for both the local population and regional stability.

The paper provides a regional review of the private security situation in Latin America and the available sources of data followed by country reviews of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Venezuela. It provides a thorough review of existing literature, an analysis of knowledge gaps and a thoughtful list of topics for further research.

Public trust in the police remains low and many officers lack the requisite education and training to fulfill their duties. The failure of police reform over the last decade is also indicative of a larger problem – there is no overarching SSR plan or strategy in Indonesia.

International support is critical for SSR to succeed, especially considering that Guinea-Bissau is one of the world’s five poorest countries. However, the results of General Indjai’s appointment lead one to seriously consider whether current SSR efforts in the country have been dealt a death blow.